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A shocking video of a group of Indonesian soldiers torturing a young West Papuan man emerged this week, providing a rare glimpse of the brutality of life under Indonesian occupation.
The video shows the victim, identified as Defianus Kogoya, with his hands tied, standing trembling in a barrel of bloody, freezing water, as Indonesian soldiers take turns punching, kicking, and slashing him. The soldiers can also be heard making racists comments, and to describing how easily the victim’s flesh peels away.
In a disturbing twist, Indonesia’s official response to the video revealed that another man, Warinus Kogoya, was tortured and murdered by the same battalion on the same day.
Though Indonesia’s official account recorded that Warinus “fell and his head hit a stone” while in a police car en route to the station, his death highlights how difficult it is to confirm the truth of such incidents. West Papua is effectively a closed society: journalists, both domestic and international, are banned, along with international NGOs and human rights organisations.
As ULMWP President Benny Wenda said;
“How many victims go unnoticed by the world? How many incidents are not captured on film?”
The soldiers filmed torturing Defianus Kogoya have been identified as members of the Yonif Raiders, a notorious and feared military unit who have been responsible for numerous atrocities in West Papua. Their crimes include the August 2022 murder and mutilation of four Papuan civilians, as well as the torture and murder of Bruno Kimko that same month.
Torture is one of the most common forms of repression Indonesia uses in West Papua. One researcher has described it as a 'mode of governance', a very public form of discipline aimed ultimately at repressing pro-independence sentiments.
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